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Gloria Swanson is a young wife whose husband is, for lack of a better word, a pigpen. Tired of his slovenly ways and uncaring manner, she leaves him for a better groomed, sweet-talking man. But all is not wine and rose and she soon learns that it may not have been a good idea to change her husband after all. DeMille’s dive into marital comedy is a glimpse of good things to come.Continue reading “Don’t Change Your Husband (1919) A Silent Film Review”

A variation on the popular twenties gold-digger theme in the key of Capra. The delightful Viola Dana dreams of landing a rich husband. Ralph Graves seems to be the man of her dreams but when he is disinherited, it is Viola’s entrepreneurial spirit that saves the day.Continue reading “That Certain Thing (1928) A Silent Film Review”

Hobart Bosworth stars as a bitter whaling captain who is still angry at his wife for leaving him sixteen years before. Then chance throws the daughter of his unfaithful wife in his path. How far will be go for revenge? Bessie Love adds her usual charm as the innocent daughter and there is much nautical action.Continue reading “The Sea Lion (1921) A Silent Film Review”

Director D.W. Griffith dives back into country melodrama with this adaptation of a hoary stage smash. Lillian Gish plays Anna, a country girl seduced and abandoned by a rich cad. The resulting baby dies and Anna is alone in the world. She meets the kindly Bartlett family and it seems that her life is taking a turn for the better… that is until her past is exposed.

Eve (Leatrice Joy) is a tomboy raised on her father’s ship. She dreams of romance but there are no eligible bachelors around. When chance sends the handsome Bill Stanley (William Boyd) her way, she is determined to land him as a husband, even if it means shanghaiing him first!

Carmen may be best known as an opera but it made a successful silent debut for opera diva Geraldine Farrar. An early hit for Cecil B. DeMille, Carmen is a lively, sensual and surprisingly earthy adaptation of a familiar story. Farrar and Wallace Reid ignite the screen and have a grand time in the process.

Lillian Gish plays an innocent girl thrust into the harsh elements of the American West. The unceasing wind batters the landscape and begins to unravel her sanity. Beautiful direction from Victor Seastrom and intense acting from both Gish and Lars Hanson. Silent cinema at its finest. For goodness sake, see it!

Con artists and deep sea divers collide in this Thomas Ince-produced adventure yarn. Hobart Bosworth is a diver trying to save his son from the clutches of a scheming city woman who wants to use his diving abilities to make a fortune in ill-gotten gains. This is one of the best silent dramas you have never heard of.

John Barrymore plays Francois Villon, the medieval French poet/thief who runs afoul of the eccentric King Louis XI (Conrad Veidt). But when the kingdom is threatened by the Duke of Burgundy, it is up to Villon to save the day. Oh, and there is naturally a lovely damsel. The most fun you can have in the Douglas Fairbanks manner without actually having Douglas Fairbanks participating.Continue reading “The Beloved Rogue (1927) A Silent Film Review”

What do you do with a kid who just wants to have fun? Virginia Lee Corbin is a madcap, fast-driving, baseball-playing beauty (complete with bare knees, marcelled hair, makeup and lingerie) who gives her square sister fits with her wild, flapper ways. But which one is really wild? It does not get much more twenties than this!

Based very, very loosely on a poem by Poe, the film tells the tale of lovers torn apart by parental disapproval, a mutiny and a handsome book publisher… Oh, all right. It pretty much has nothing at all to do with Poe and the name of the heroine was just borrowed to add a literary touch.

Douglas Fairbanks is the titular thief who uses his burglaring ways to win a princess, defeat the Mongols and generally save the day. Scenery, sets and costumes? Gorgeous. Pace? One may safely describe it as, er, stately. Pluses: An early appearance from Anna May Wong and much Fairbanksian leaping.

Lulu is a poor relation, sentenced to a lifetime of drudgery for the crime of spinsterhood. She jumps into a loveless marriage in order to escape her plight. It should have been an escape but it only makes matters worse and Lulu is forced to take matters into her own hands.

Child neglect, single moms, personal crisis… Just another day D.W. Griffith-land. Mae Marsh is Teazie, a young orphan who flirts as way to get much-needed attention. Ivor Novello is Joseph, a freshly ordained minister who mistakes her flirtations for an immoral character. What follows can best be described as Way Down East meets The Scarlet Letter.

Buddy comedies do not come better. During the Great War, two squabbling soldiers are captured by the Germans. They escape, rescuing an Arabian princess in the process. Cute film with a strong cast and a lively pace. One of the early silents produced by Howard Hughes.

Home Media Availability: This film has never been released on DVD or made available via streaming.

She’s the saintly sister of a debauched minister. He’s a somewhat homicidal gunslinger determined to run the church right out of town. Is that romance in the air? Marvelously apocalyptic western from everyone’s favorite Good Bad Man, William S. Hart.

Why do eccentric millionaires always do this? Die and leave strange wills, that is. This time around, a group of would-be heirs gather to see who gets the cash. Murder ensues.Laura La Plante is the heiress who must solve the mystery before she is permanently eliminated from the succession.

The Maharajah of Bengal wants his wife to have the most fabulous tomb in the world. He hires an English architect to design and constructs it. There’s just one little problem. His wife is not dead. Yet. This is a classy adventure yarn with a strong Teutonic flavor. Well worth obtaining.Continue reading “The Indian Tomb (1921) A Silent Film Review”

Aglamorous European countess meets small town America and it’s a novel experience for both. Tongues wag, the gentlemen preen and the town’s moral crusader finds himself unpleasantly in love. This is pretty much the most fun you can have at the movies and not be breaking the law.Continue reading “A Woman of the World (1925) A Silent Film Review”

He’s a Bolshevik. She’s a princess. Can they find love? Of course they will! Riding roughshod over historical accuracy and narrative logic, The Volga Boatman still manages to be a rollicking (if air-headed) good time.

Movie Book Pick of the Week

Styling the Stars: Lost Treasures from the Twentieth Century Fox Archive by Angela Cartwright and Tom McLaren. A lavish look at the fashions of Fox. It’s pretty much talkies but absolutely gorgeous to look at.

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Founded by Fritzi Kramer, Movies Silently's mission is to make silent film fun and accessible with reviews, articles, animated GIF and daily updates.